The present invention relates to a floppy disk drive apparatus and, more particularly, to a floppy disk drive apparatus having an insertion state detection function for detecting if a floppy disk is properly inserted in a disk receptacle.
In a conventional magnetic recording apparatus using e.g., a flexible floppy disk as a magnetic recording medium, a clamp is mounted on a spindle motor shaft, and a floppy disk, housed in a substantially square jacket, is inserted through a disk slot and is fixed by the clamp mechanism on the spindle motor shaft. The floppy disk is then rotated at a predetermined speed. A carriage having a magnetic head thereon is radially moved by a stepping motor to cause the magnetic head to read data from or write it on the floppy disk.
The conventional floppy disk drive apparatus is normally connected to a host computer, and the motor rotation control and data access are performed in response to instructions from the host computer. An index signal from a photosensor or index sensor for detecting an index hole formed in the floppy disk is sent back as a floppy disk rotational position signal to the host computer. Write protect data from a notch detector or a photosensor for detecting a rectangular notch formed at a side edge of the jacket, is generated as write/read protect data. Data write access to the floppy disk can be performed in response to the write protect signal and the index signal.
In the conventional floppy disk drive apparatus, the following problems occur. Since the floppy disk housed in the jacket can be detachably inserted in the floppy disk drive apparatus, it is necessary to detect if the floppy disk is inserted in the disk receptacle of the drive apparatus or not. If the floppy disk is inserted in the drive apparatus, an indicator lamp must be turned on to indicate its presence. In addition, an acknowledge signal must be sent back to the host computer when a drive select signal is sent from the host computer to the drive apparatus. In the conventional floppy disk drive apparatus, a means for detecting that the jacket having the floppy disk therein has been inserted in the disk receptacle is additionally provided. As such detecting means, a clamp knob, arranged outside the disk slot and operated to mount the floppy disk on the clamp of the spindle motor, is used and the operation of the clamp knob is checked to see if the jacket is inserted or not. Alternatively, an additional detector is arranged to detect that the jacket has been inserted inside the floppy disk drive apparatus.
However, in order to detect the clamp knob actuation or directly detect the insertion of the jacket, additional members must be arranged in the floppy disk drive apparatus, thus increasing its overall size and manufacturing cost.